Post on 25-Feb-2016
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Chapter 2
Up Around the Circular Flow
GDP, Economic Growth,and Business Cycles
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
2.1: Different types of GDP, and how each relates to living standards
2.2: Economic growth and how it is measured
2.3: Business cycles and output
2.4: Measuring GDP: value added, aggregate spending and aggregate income
2.5: Identify five limitations of real GDP per person as a measure of well-being
1. HIGHER PRICES, MORE STUFF, OR BOTH? NOMINAL GDP AND REAL GDP
GDP measures value final products/services produced annually;
nominal GDP combines changes in prices & quantities; real GDP measures only changes in quantities;
real GDP per person best measure of material standard of living.
NOMINAL GDP AND REAL GDP
Nominal GDPvalue at current prices of all final products/services produced annually in a country
Differences in nominal GDP between years due to either price changes or quantity changes
Fig 2.1: Nominal GDP and Real GDP, 1926 - 2008
Real GDPvalue at constant prices of all final products/services produced annually in a country
– real GDP uses constant prices for a single year to value quantities produced in different years
– differences in real GDP between years show only changes in quantities
Fig. 2.2: Nominal GDP and Real GDP, 2002 - 2008
Q: Explain why real GDP per person is a more accurate measure of standard of living than nominal GDP.
A: When nominal GDP increases between years, the increase might be due to increases in prices or to increases in quantities of products/services. Only increases in quantities can improve our standard of living. Real GDP holds prices constant, so any increases in real GDP between years must be due to increases in quantities.
But even if real GDP increases, our standard of living may not increase if the population is growing faster than the increases in real GDP. Real GDP per person — real GDP divided by the population of a country — is the best available measure of standard of living. Real GDP per person measures the average quantities of products/services per person that are produced annually in a country.
2. WHEN MACROECONOMIC DREAMS COME TRUE: POTENTIAL GDP AND
ECONOMIC GROWTH
By increasing quantity and quality of inputs, economic growth increases productivity and potential GDP per
person, raising maximum possible living standards.
POTENTIAL GDP AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Potential GDP real GDP when all inputs fully employed
(labour, capital, land/resources, entrepreneurship)
short-run goal for ideal economic performance
outcome if Invisible Hand works perfectly
Potential GDP per person potential GDP divided by population short-run maximum living standards
Fig. 2.3: Potential GDP/Person and Real GDP/Person, 1926 - 2008
Increases in labour quantity — population growth,
immigration, and labour force participation rate
quality — human capital — work experience, on-the-job training, and education
Increases in capitalquantity — more factories and equipmentquality — technological change — innovation,
research and developmentIncreases in land/resources
quantity — bringing land/resources into circular flow of markets
quality — usually due to increases in capital used with land
Increases in entrepreneurshipquantity and quality interrelatedbetter management, organization, and
worker/management relations
Economic growth rateannual percentage change in real GDP per person
Canada’s average annual economic growth rate, 1926–2008, was 2.1 %
Real GDP per person growth rate(%)
Real GDP per person this year
Real GDP per person last year
Real GDP per person last yearX 100=
—
Impact of Economic Growth Rate
Anything that effects the long-run rate of economic growth – even by a tiny amount – will have huge effects on living standards in the long run.
1,081.4%243.7%85.4%
624.5%169.2%64.0%
2.5%
2.0%
…100 years…50 years…25 years
percentage increase in standard of living after…
annual growth rate of
income per capita
Fig. 2.6: Annual Growth Rate of Canadian Real GDP/Person, 1926 - 2008
Fig. 2.7: Growth in Real GDP/Person, Industrialized Countries, 1870 - 2007
Rule of 70 number of years for initial amount to double is roughly 70 divided by annual percentage growth rate
compounding causes small differences in annual growth rates to have large consequences over long time periods
Productivityquantity of real GDP produced by an hour of
labour increases in productivity increase living
standards more products/services produced reducing work time needed to buy
products/servicesCreative destruction
competitive innovations generate profits for winners, improve living standards for all, but destroy less productive/desirable products and production methods
Q: If real GDP per person was $50 000 last year and increases to $52 000 this year, what is the annual economic growth rate?
A: The growth rate = (real GDP per person this year — real GDP per person last year) ÷ real GDP per person last year × 100%
= ($52 000 — $50 000) ÷ $50 000 × 100%
= 4%
3. BOOM AND BUST: BUSINESS CYCLES
Business cycles track real GDP expansion and contraction. Output gaps measure the difference
between real GDP and potential GDP.
“Closing the gap” is an important policy target.
BUSINESS CYCLES
Language of business cyclesfluctuations of real GDP around potential GDP expansion
period when real GDP increases peak
highest point of an expansion contraction
period when real GDP decreases trough
lowest point of a contraction recession
2+ successive quarters of real GDP contraction
Fig. 2.9: Most Recent Complete Canadian Business Cycle
Output gapsreal GDP minus potential GDP
recessionary gapreal GDP below potential GDP
inflationary gapreal GDP above potential GDP
4. HOW TO MEASURE GDP: VALUE ADDED, ENLARGED CIRCULAR
FLOW
Value added solves double counting measurement problems, distinguishing final and intermediate
products/services, reveals aggregate spending = aggregate income in
circular flow.
Q: In the first quarter of 2009, real GDP (measured in 2002 dollars) was $1292 billion and potential GDP was $1331 billion. What kind of gap existed and what was its size?
A: The output gap = real GDP — potential GDP
= $1292 billion — $1331 billion = — $39 billion dollars.
When real GDP is less than potential GDP this is a recessionary gap. The output gap is a negative number.
VALUE ADDED & THE ENLARGED CIRCULAR FLOW
Value addedvalue of output minus value of intermediate products/services bought from other businesses
Value added solves problems of double counting, distinguishing final and intermediate products/services value of final products/services = value
added value of final products/services = inputs’
income GDP = inputs’ income
Fig. 2.10: Value Added and Final Spending
Fig. 2.11: Value Added Equals Value of Final Products
GDP can be calculated using either half of circular flow of income and spending
aggregate aggregatespending = income(GDP ) (Y )
spending payments toon final = input owners products/services
Fig. 2.12: Simple Circular Flow without Government
Fig. 2.13Simple GDP Circular Flow of Income & Spending
Flows of spending on the enlarged circular flowC consumption spending by consumersI business investment spending on
factories and machines made by businesses
G government spending on products/services
X spending by R.O.W. on Canadian exports IM Canadian spending on imports produced
by R.O.W.
Fig 2.14 Enlarged GDP Circular Flow of Income & Spending ($)
Consumer choices spend or save disposable income
aggregate income minus net taxes net taxes
taxes minus transfer paymentsBusiness choices
hiring inputs and producing products/services
investment spending
Government choicescollect taxes, make transfer
paymentsspending on products/services
R.O.W. choicesbuy Canadian exports or from elsewheresell imports to Canada or elsewhereinvest and borrow money in Canada or
elsewhereBank choices
take deposits and make loans
Item Billions of dollars
Billions of Dollars
Wages paid to labour 815Consumption expenditure 885Net domestic income at factor cost 1,210Investment 304Government expenditure 357Exports 40Subsidies 20Import 50GDP Expenditure method:
Q. Using expenditure method, calculate the GDP for the following hypothetical economy for the year 2020.
5. MY GDP IS BIGGER THAN YOURS: WHAT’S WRONG WITH GDP AS A
MEASURE OF WELL-BEING?
Real GDP per person is a limited measure of well-being;
excludes nonmarket production, underground economy, environmental damage, leisure, political
freedoms and social justice.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH GDP AS A MEASURE OF WELL-BEING?
Real GDP per person is limited measure of well being because it does not include
non-market productionhousehold production that improves quality of life
underground economy activities that are illegal, or legal but avoid taxes
environmental damage costs of environmental damage, resource depletion
leisure leisure lowers real GDP, but is desirable
political freedoms and social justice
limited freedoms, uneven income distributions
Growth rates of real GDP per person still useful for judging economic progress if no significant changes over time in the limitations
United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) measures quality of life across countries by combining life expectancy, educational achievement, and income
Canada ranked 4th, U.S. 15th in 2006